By Paul Tamburello
Date April 08, 2004
The many visitors to the Rotch-Jones-Duff house in downtown New Bedford are probably unaware of the Rotch family connection to Westport. The Rotch family was one of the wealthiest in New Bedford during the whaling era, with their fortunes rising and falling in conjunction with the rise and fall of the whaling industry.
William Rotch, Jr. made at least part of his fortune as a mill owner. In 1795, he purchased the mills located at the dams in Westport from a trio known as the Sawmill Men with the family surnames of Waite, Lawton, and Tripp. The 20-acre property was by most accounts located north of Forge Road, in an area that was once a thriving center of commerce. The parcel included a forge, a grist mill, a saw mill, a blacksmith shop, a toll house, a store house and dwelling. Mr. Rotch kept the property, known as the Rotch Mills, until 1846 when he sold it to Anthony Gifford.
Kate Corkum, Executive Director of the Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum in New Bedford, talked about the Rotch connection to Westport at the March 11 meeting of the Westport Historical Society. Ms. Corkum took the crowd of history buffs through a 250-year span preceding and following the construction of the Rotch Mansion by William Rotch, Jr.
Ms. Corkum said William Rotch's entrepreneurial spirit must have been genetically endowed. His grandfather, Joseph Rotch, moved his whaling business from Nantucket to Old Dartmouth, now New Bedford, in 1765. Two years later, he launched the first locally built whaling vessel, the Dartmouth, and with it launched New Bedford into an unprecedented period of growth, surpassing Nantucket as the foremost whaling port in the nation.
In the early 1800s, the whaling industry cast a long shadow over the southeast coastal Massachusetts and the tallest was cast by New Bedford. Well before mid-century the Rotch family was wealthy beyond the average person's imagining. The tax records for 1800 list only three persons with a net worth of more than $100,000 --William Rotch, his son William Rotch Jr., and his son-in-law and business partner Samuel Rodman.
By 1850, New Bedford was the richest town in America and home port for half of America's whaling fleet.
Ms. Corkhum speculated that it was due to his Quaker principles of equality, community, and simplicity that William Rotch, Jr. wanted to make his mark on New Bedford's urban infrastructure as well as its mercantile enterprises.
In 1834, he built the Greek Revival estate on County Road overlooking the harbor. He became founding member of New Bedford Institution for Savings, Friends Academy and the New Bedford Horticultural Society.
The maritime legacy continued when whaling merchant Edward Coffin Jones and his three young daughters moved into the house in 1851 and was passed on to the Mark Duff family in 1936.
Both families attempted to maintain the mansion and its connection with New Bedford intact. Over time, however, it fell into disrepair. In 1981, the estate was purchased by the Waterfront Historical Area League or WHALE.
Ms. Corkum cited two connections between William Rotch, Jr. and Westport. One was the acquisition of the saw mill. But perhaps even more important was Mr. Rotch's friendship with one of Westport's most prominent figures -- Paul Cuffe. Mr. Cuffe, who was the son of an African-American freed slave and a Native American, began his maritime career working for Mr. Rotch transporting lumber and food supplies from the mainland to Nantucket.
Ms. Corkum said she and her staff are still scouring Westport history for more information about Rotch Mills. She invited Westporters to contact her at the Rotch-Jones-Duff house if they can add informational grist to the mill.
Kate Corkhum talks about William Rotch with William Wyatt, president of the Westport Historical Society.
Head of Westport flourished in whaling era
During the years before the close of the Revolutionary war there was very little increase in the wealth or population of Westport. The millers sawed the logs and ground the grain that was brought to them by the neighboring inhabitants, and there was no business from outside localities demanding the attention of the Westport mills.
Soon after the Revolution, a decided change occurred. Ten miles away, New Bedford was starting on a prosperous maritime career. Ships were being built and iron and wood were in demand. Another important change took place when the Rotch and Rodman families moved from Nantucket to New Bedford. It was their policy to control every line connected with the whaling business.
The merchant not only superintended the business of the ship, hired and paid the crew, sold the oil, and distributed the proceeds, but he had a saw-mill in some forest to prepare timber; an iron factory to make anchors and other appliances; and a factory to manufacture cordage and another to make sail cloth. He would typically also own a refinery to change oil into candles, and frequently large inland farms where he could prepare meat and other food supplies.
In fact, the success of New Bedford merchants grew out of their involvement from the beginning to end of the process, starting with the building of vessels to controlling every line of businessin the fitting of the ships. At the end of the voyage, they even prepared the product for the consumer.
In this way, they secured to themselves every profit, and no wonder they became millionaires. In pursuance of this policy, in 1795 William Rotch, Jr., purchased all the mill property once known as "Waite's and Tripp's Mill, " including 20 acres of land, a grist mill, saw mill, forge, utensils, coal house, store house, blacksmith shop, and a dwelling house; at an entire cost of $3,000 dollars. Mr. Rotch operated these mills for half a century.
It was in those days that the village at the Head increased in size. The mills were working not only for Westport people, but for the center of the whaling industry. A community must result with a meeting house, school, store, tavern and dwellings. Thus, during the half century of ownership of the Westport mills by William Rotch, the Head of the River now known as the Head of Westport was established and reached its height.
It is well to keep in mind that much of the material used in constructing those ships that a century ago were adding to the fortunes of New Bedford merchants largely came from those little mills at the junction of the Forge Road and the Noquochoke River.
This information was provided from historical records of the mill period in Westport.
1712 - Lawton, Waite, Tripp families purchase land, build mills on east and west banks of Noquochoke River. As soon as Lawton, Waite and Tripp secured the water priviledge, they built two mills. The one on the west side of the river was known for a century as Lawton's Mill. On the east side of the river, the partners built what was called Waite'sMillâ which was located one third mile east of the Forge Road corner.
1795 - William Rotch, Jr. purchases 20 acres north of the Head, including grist mill, saw-mill, forge, utensils, toll house, store-house, blacksmith shop and dwelling for $3,000. Not long after, Paul Cuffe was contracted by Mr. Rotch to deliver goods to Nantucket. The two developed a friendship. The location of Rotch Mills according to a document "Old Home Week at the Head of Westport " dated 1908 states that the property was "one third mile east of the Forge Road corner." Soon after buying the property, Mr. Rotch built a house on the west side of the road at the corner south of the lower mill.
1846 - Rotch sells Rotch Mills to Anthony Gifford, who uses the site for a hoe factory.
By Paul Tamburello
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